What's On Today

By KATHRYN SHATTUCK

Published: August 11, 2009

9 P.M. (Discovery) SWORDS: LIFE ON THE LINE This newest entry in the deadliest-catch oeuvre explores the risks inherent in long-line swordfish hunting, above. The boats include two out of Fairhaven, Mass.: the 100-foot-long, steel-hulled Eagle Eye II, captained by Scott Drabinowicz, and the 70-foot-long Sea Hawk, overseen by Linda Greenlaw, who survived the infamous ''perfect storm'' in the Hannah Boden, the sister ship to the Andrea Gail. There's also the dilapidated, 58-foot-long fiberglass Big Eye run by Chris Hanson of Wanchese, N.C., and owned by his fianc? as well as the Frances Anne, a 72-foot-long, forward-housed boat run by Chris Kleme and several New Jersey surfer dudes. In this premiere episode the crews take a voyage to hell on the Grand Banks off the coast of Newfoundland.

7 A.M. (CBS) THE EARLY SHOWNeil Diamond croons some of his hits. Topics include raising children to avoid drug abuse and cooking with corn.

7 A.M. (NBC) TODAY The Broadway cast of ''Shrek the Musical'' performs. Also, the relationship between children and stepparents.

8 P.M. (ABC) WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE This special prime-time edition continues with Regis Philbin in the host's seat, Sherri Shepherd playing for charity, and Wolf Blitzer as the lifeline expert.

8 P.M. (Fox) HELL'S KITCHEN The 12 remaining chefs plan menus for a dinner saluting a United States Marine, with the losers having to gussy up the dining room under orders from Gordon Ramsay's wife, Tana.

8 P.M. (VH1) LORDS OF THE REVOLUTION The stoner comedians Cheech and Chong are profiled in the second installment in this five-part documentary series about those who dared to buck the establishment during the 1960s and '70s.

9 P.M. (TNT) HAWTHORNE After crunching numbers, Morrissey (James Morrison) orders Christina (Jada Pinkett Smith) to lay off six nurses by the end of her shift. But that's not the day's biggest tragedy.

9 P.M. (Fox) MORE TO LOVE Luke invites the 12 bachelorettes to a prom, where he introduces them to his hometown friends. And then he narrows the field to 8.

9 P.M. (ABC) BETTER OFF TED In the first half of this two-part season ender, Ted (Jay Harrington) can't bear to break the news to Linda (Andrea Anders) that Veridian's promise to go green is just a ruse. So he secretly diverts money to help her build a rooftop garden. In the finale, at 9:30, a new invention reveals the secret life of Veronica (Portia de Rossi), and Linda decides that if Ted won't date her, she'll hook him up with her old roommate, Rebecca (Rachelle Lefevre).

9 P.M. (Sundance) WATERLIFE (2009) Starting at Lake Superior in Canada and riding the flow south into the United States to Lakes Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario, Kevin McMahon, above, explores the ecosystem of the Great Lakes, which supply 20 percent of the earth's fresh water. He also investigates threats to this environment and its restoration.

10 P.M. (Travel) BITE ME WITH DR. MIKE The virologist Mike Leahy wraps up the series's first season by unearthing the deadliest creatures in Florida and Arizona.

10 P.M. (ABC) PRIMETIME: THE OUTSIDERS This season premiere journeys to Africa, where two men are intent on saving the continent's lions: Kevin Richardson, a k a the Lion Whisperer, who uses affection-based training methods on a pride in his South African wildlife park, and Dave Salmoni, an Animal Planet host and big-cat trainer who is trying to rehabilitate an aggressive pride earmarked for destruction in a national park in Namibia.

10 P.M. (A&E) THE CLEANER William (Benjamin Bratt) helps a woman obtain her drug-addicted son's release from jail, but the freed young man refuses to change his life -- and a 13-year-old drug messenger isn't helping matters. ''Extreme Interventionist: The Man Behind the Cleaner,'' at 11, explores the addiction, recovery and resulting career of Warren Boyd, the inspiration for ''The Cleaner.''